Discussion
Hi, I'm thinking of buying a Panda 100HP new. Just wondering if anyone has any experiences, good or bad that they could share to help me chose. I had a Citroen C2GT before the Elise I've got now, and I love 'quirky' hot hatches. House purchase forces me back into something slightly more usable, and with Panda's available for 200 quid a month with a years free insurance, they look pretty tempting!
Any feedback would be welcome.
Cheers
Any feedback would be welcome.
Cheers
srob said:
Hi, I'm thinking of buying a Panda 100HP new. Just wondering if anyone has any experiences, good or bad that they could share to help me chose. I had a Citroen C2GT before the Elise I've got now, and I love 'quirky' hot hatches. House purchase forces me back into something slightly more usable, and with Panda's available for 200 quid a month with a years free insurance, they look pretty tempting!
Any feedback would be welcome.
Cheers
Drive the deal are offering these for £8k saving you £2k... they do look good in the dark silver. Boot space is a joke but spec for the car is very good climate control MPR/ipod etc.Any feedback would be welcome.
Cheers
Cheers for that. Does anyone know any more about 'Drive the Deal'. They do seem to have some good offers- do you still get the full warranty and stuff? I presume they're UK cars? Sorry if they're stupid questions, I've only ever bought from main dealers in the past! Does seem like a bargain though...
Hi, still in my Elise fortunately but considering one of these as a second car. Will keep any eye on this thread too as am interested to see what you think coming from and Elise. They do look cool though. Sprightly performance, 43mpg, free ins, and cheap monthly payments. Seems to tick all the boxes although I am not sure what the insurance group is. There is a final 'end of test' report in EVO mag this month. I think they like it and apart from hard ride it was great.
I've not driven one BUT iwas overtaken by one (yes I know this is a bit of long shot here!) but it was bloody amazing!!
To put it into context: there is a lovely wide, nicely surfaced mountain pass behind Athens were I was out for a blast keeping a fast pace (which I might add is pretty nippy for a boggo standard, 98bhp, 185/14inch wheeled Clio!!).
A bloke who clearly new the road very very well suddenly appeared in my rear view mirror. I should actually say that he 4-wheel drfited into my mirror and without shedding speed darted past through the gap I made as I shifted aside.
The speed he carried into the corners was astonishing! The car seemed very well sorted and looked to be very driveable at the linmits.
Although I have the same power to weight ratio, my knowledge of the road, standard suspension set up, skinny tyres and general aversion to death by careening off a barrier-less mountain pass(!) meant that it was not long before he scampered off only to be seen executing a u-turn at the bottom and going back up for another go (whilst grinning like a mad man!).
To put it into context: there is a lovely wide, nicely surfaced mountain pass behind Athens were I was out for a blast keeping a fast pace (which I might add is pretty nippy for a boggo standard, 98bhp, 185/14inch wheeled Clio!!).
A bloke who clearly new the road very very well suddenly appeared in my rear view mirror. I should actually say that he 4-wheel drfited into my mirror and without shedding speed darted past through the gap I made as I shifted aside.
The speed he carried into the corners was astonishing! The car seemed very well sorted and looked to be very driveable at the linmits.
Although I have the same power to weight ratio, my knowledge of the road, standard suspension set up, skinny tyres and general aversion to death by careening off a barrier-less mountain pass(!) meant that it was not long before he scampered off only to be seen executing a u-turn at the bottom and going back up for another go (whilst grinning like a mad man!).
srob said:
Cheers for that. Does anyone know any more about 'Drive the Deal'. They do seem to have some good offers- do you still get the full warranty and stuff? I presume they're UK cars? Sorry if they're stupid questions, I've only ever bought from main dealers in the past! Does seem like a bargain though...
DtD cars are direct from dealers so the terms should be the same as walking into a showroom yourself. I did a quick price check and they save £1800 on the list price but finance amounted to more than this. With 0% from FIAT it seems a better deal to go in, haggle the price and get 0% (plus free insurance too I think).Cheers for that Frimley!
I'm hoping it'll be in a similar spirit to my old 106 Rallye and C2 GT- I love a little car that has a bit of personality! I think they're group 5 insurance by the way. Now what colour- white is the only 'non cost' (the others range between 250-350'ish). I think white would actually look pretty cool...
I'm hoping it'll be in a similar spirit to my old 106 Rallye and C2 GT- I love a little car that has a bit of personality! I think they're group 5 insurance by the way. Now what colour- white is the only 'non cost' (the others range between 250-350'ish). I think white would actually look pretty cool...
Frimley111R said:
Isn't red a non cost option? I have seen some pics of one in white and it looked good,
Well I went to the Fiat garage on the weekend and sorry but Ive really pulled away from it - interior quality IMHO is poor, looks are funky, boot is lol small it looks boxy 6 foot + people will struggle to get into the car and the seats are not very wide + the centre console intrudes into drives knee space. Sorry but its totally off my potential buy list.
Mind you the Bravo there did look pretty special.
Just been reading the reveiws from The Independent and The Times and given that I am approaching 38 yrs old the references to young bods liking this has put me off a little.
Still for £7695 at http://www.fiatsupasaver.com/default.aspx it is not half bad. Might look at a Fabia vRS.
Still for £7695 at http://www.fiatsupasaver.com/default.aspx it is not half bad. Might look at a Fabia vRS.
Frimley111R said:
Just been reading the reveiws from The Independent and The Times and given that I am approaching 38 yrs old the references to young bods liking this has put me off a little.
Still for £7695 at http://www.fiatsupasaver.com/default.aspx it is not half bad. Might look at a Fabia vRS.
vRS is a good car too - but it has a significant number of modified cars & ins on it is much higher than the VW Polo GT TDI130 & Seat Ibiza FR130/Sport 130 due to the fact quite a number have had claims against them.Still for £7695 at http://www.fiatsupasaver.com/default.aspx it is not half bad. Might look at a Fabia vRS.
I had a test drive of the 100HP when it came out and was impressed. It doesn't half shift and the exhaust note took me back to my Strada Abarth days!(well, almost).
Can't give any more comment on the car but I do have a Panda 4x4(06) and as far as reliability and build quality go, I really can't fault it. Its a bit sluggish(not the case with the 100HP) but really, thats it. I have a few toys in the drive but its always the Panda that gets used. They're great fun and I highly recommend any of them.
Can't give any more comment on the car but I do have a Panda 4x4(06) and as far as reliability and build quality go, I really can't fault it. Its a bit sluggish(not the case with the 100HP) but really, thats it. I have a few toys in the drive but its always the Panda that gets used. They're great fun and I highly recommend any of them.
I'm on my third day of 100HP ownership, it's great.
Pro's: engaging handling, good steering feel (esp compared to the car I nearly got, Suzuki Swift), surprisingly good fit and finish, equipment (bluetooth phone, a/c standard)
Cons: it can get a bit bouncy, as they described in Evo. Got a bit boring on a recent m/way journey. High seat position.
Pro's: engaging handling, good steering feel (esp compared to the car I nearly got, Suzuki Swift), surprisingly good fit and finish, equipment (bluetooth phone, a/c standard)
Cons: it can get a bit bouncy, as they described in Evo. Got a bit boring on a recent m/way journey. High seat position.
srob said:
Hi. I'd be interested to hear what kind of deal you got (if you don't mind saying). And what colour you went for. Looks like the Elise may be on it's way soon, so I'll be off to have a go in one!
Unfortunately, a deal wasn't possible as it was a company car purchase. They did offer me about £8,7600 without much haggling, but only for a private sale.I went for white, no esp, extra speakers and airbags. The white is really nice, it's a pearly shade like the alfa shades, not brilliant a-la Porsche GT3.
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